Our friends over at allpar.com recently published an article about a potential future Jeep pickup based on the Iveco Massif (don't worry - I had to look it up on Wikipedia as well) from Spanish auto builder Santana (no, not this one). The logic is sound, but a little thin - file this squarely in the "rumor" folder:

The rumor is backed by a recent Chrysler job posting, requiring CATIA v5, which the Massif was created on — versus NX, which Chrysler is switching to over the summer of 2011. The job notes a “new platform” being developed. It is possible that the plan is to hire experienced new people on a project basis to either adapt the existing Iveco Massif, or the Iveco Daily itself, to Jeep use — with a link-coil suspension replacing the leaf springs, perhaps.

I started that rumor months ago...! In all Seriousness, the heart of the "JEEP" is the suspension....JEEP, could make a JEEP out of a Smart car with a sprinkle of Magic JEEP Dust and a TJ Suspension....Besides, the Gerry's already ruined the Wrangler's sheetmetal legacy with the JK...If anything, a MASSIF-based Jeep could bring back the TJ's inline-based platform, mabye even a renniasance of the I-6 updated with MDS and VVT and 4.7L displacement. And P.S. Look at the Iveco Daily, Can you say "ToniMog" ?

Since this thing is the Daily platform and they've already talked about using Fiat's commercial vans, wouldn't it be a MUCH MORE realistic assumption that the engineers will be working on making a Ram Van?